[06/06/14 - 12:31 PM]CMT's "Party Down South" Premieres to Series High with Season Two DebutCMT spins the numbers for Thursday, June 5.

[via press release from CMT]

CMT'S "PARTY DOWN SOUTH" PREMIERES TO SERIES HIGH WITH SEASON TWO DEBUT

1.25 Million Total Viewers Tuned in to the Premiere or Encore Airings

Second Season Premiere Grows +75% Over Season One Premiere

Series Ranks as #4 Most Social Series of Day

NASHVILLE - June 6, 2014 - The second season of CMT's top-rated series PARTY DOWN SOUTH kicked off with a series high when the new season premiered Thursday, June 5 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. An impressive 1.25 million Total Viewers tuned in for the premiere or immediate encore, and the premiere episode was up +75% from season one with a .67 P18-49 L+SD rating. Younger fans, and especially females, watched the cast reunite in Athens, Ga., as the series drew a .74 rating among P18-34, and a .88 rating among W18-34, up +184% from the season one launch.

#PartyDownSouth was a hit on Twitter as well, as the hashtag trended nationally throughout the show, peaking at #3. According to Nielsen SocialGuide, the show was the fourth most-tweeted about series yesterday. Much of the buzz can be attributed to CMT's multi-platform strategy that included opportunities to interact with the outspoken cast on social media, along with a social command center that live-tweeted and chatted with fans throughout the series premiere. CMT released the first in a series of comedic, animated videos yesterday featuring the PARTY DOWN SOUTH cast.

Season two kicked-off with Murray, Lyle, Daddy, Walt, Lil Bit, Mattie, Lauren and Tiffany packing their bags and bringing viewers along as they journeyed to Athens. When the group is finally together at last, they waste no time picking up where they left off - cracking open some beers and getting their party on. Daddy introduces everyone to his latest drinking toy, the Beer-Zooka, and Lil Bit reveals to the house that she has a boyfriend. This news does not sit well with Daddy, who has developed feelings for Lil Bit since the last time they were all together. By the end of the night, it's clear that this season will be filled with more drama, more surprises and more wild nights.

The channel hit back to back homeruns with Wednesday's 2014 CMT MUSIC AWARDS, scoring a 1.39 among P18-49 L+SD, up +7% from last year and the #1 original cable telecast for the day. It was followed by Thursday night's highly successful return of PARTY DOWN SOUTH, which posted a record setting debut.

PARTY DOWN SOUTH is produced by 495 Productions, with SallyAnn Salsano, Joel Zimmer and Kyle Simpson serving as executive producers. Jayson Dinsmore and Morgan Selzer executive produce for CMT.

For more information on PARTY DOWN SOUTH and exclusive content, visit CMT.com, download the CMT app, "like" the show's official Facebook page, be part of the conversation with #PartyDownSouth and follow @CMT and the cast on Twitter.

CMT, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 92 million homes in the U.S. CMT, CMT.com and CMT Radio offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and are the top resource for country music on demand. The network's digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT App, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.